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Malls and stores across the city were packed Friday morning as Boxing Day shoppers battled long line ups and scoured the aisles in search of deals. But many bargain hunters, used to the American-inspired Black Friday sale in November and the online discounts leading up to Boxing Day, said the deals weren’t as impressive as they used to be.

“The sales are not as good as last year,” said Ryan Goodman, looking through flyers at the Future Shop in Richmond Hill. “I feel Boxing Day is just the leftovers from Black Friday,” he said.

He’s not the only one that thinks this way. According to a survey by Accenture, a global management and technology consulting company on holiday shopping, consumers no longer feel Boxing Day will give them the best deal.

The survey, published in October, found that the same number of Canadian consumers (33 per cent) expect to find good deals on both Black Friday and Boxing Day. In 2013, Boxing Day was seen as the better shopping day. This was especially true for younger consumers in the 18-24 price range, of which 81 per cent said they planned to shop on Black Friday. The survey interviewed 200 Canadian consumers in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary.

“The market has changed and Canadian retailers need to be aggressive with offering the best deals of the season during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to keep and grow market share,” said Robin Sahota, Managing Director, Retail at Accenture in Canada, in the release.

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On Christmas Day, consumers went online to buy music, applications and other content for new smartphones and tablets they received as gifts. Online spending increased 8.3 percent Thursday from a year earlier, IBM said Friday. That compares with last year's Dec. 25 growth rate of 17 percent.

People line up waiting for Victoria's Secret to open at 7 a.m. as shoppers take advantage of Boxing Day sales at Eaton Centre. (Bernard Weil / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Shoppers enter the Apple Store at Eaton Centre bright and early to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. (Bernard Weil / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

James Mok was looking for a new television at Future Shop, but was unsure if now was the best time to get one. “Before you would know that you are getting the best deal on Boxing Day, but now you can’t be sure,” said Mok. “I keep thinking there is a better deal online or even maybe next Black Friday.”

David Soberman, Professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto says that consumers are much more informed than they once were

“Now people can find price reductions and deals online, they are not going to react to the more shallow discounts,” said Soberman. “The other thing is that people are much better informed than they used to be,” he said.

“It’s so easy to go on to the internet, and know if you are getting a good deal or not,” he said.

Darren Mak said in previous years he would line up in front of Future Shop early on Boxing Day to be the first one in, but not anymore.

“Almost all the products were on sale online last night, so there isn’t even really a point to come in,” said Mak, walking around empty handed. “And with so many sale days, like Black Friday, our idea of what a good deal is has changed.”

Online shopping is on pace to rise 16 percent to $61 billion for the November to December period, according to researcher ComScore Inc., with retailers benefiting from lower unemployment rates, higher consumer confidence and a decline in oil prices that has left shoppers with more to spend on gifts. The total includes $7.9 billion in mobile sales, ComScore said.

Online retailers like Amazon seem to be the big winners, as sales rose 20 percent from Nov. 27 to Dec. 21, outperforming the broader industry's growth rate of 14 percent in the same period, according to ChannelAdvisor Corp., a consulting firm that helps retailers increase sales.

The online retailer said it sold more products this holiday season than ever before. On Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, customers ordered more than 36.8 million items worldwide, which is a record-breaking 426 items per second.

But Future Shop store manager Ryan Stuart said despite the competition, the Richmond Hill store had a line-up of about 300 people when it opened at 6 a.m. this morning.

“We are doing really well. Better than I expected,” said Stuart. He said there have been a lot of sales recently including Black Friday and VIP days, which made him think sales would be weak.

“People have been coming in non-stop,” he said. “Even those that shop online still want to touch and feel the product before buying it.”

But Jon Li, who was checking out a television for his son said he’s undecided if it’s worth hitting the stores on Boxing Day.

“They knock off the price a few hundred dollars, but you have to put up with the longer line ups and the headache. Is it worth it? I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

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